David Baulcombe

Type

White Paper

Summary

JIC is an independent, international centre of excellence in plant science and microbiology. Our mission is to carry out fundamental and strategic research, to train scientists and to make our findings available to society.

The scientific research at the Centre makes use of a wide range of disciplines in the biological and chemical sciences, including cell biology, biochemistry, chemistry, genetics, molecular biology, computational and mathematical biology.

The John Innes Centre is a registered charity (No. 223852) and a company limited by guarantee (registered in England No. 511709).

The JIC is grant-aided by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

The JIC leases the extensive land and buildings it uses from the John Innes Foundation, an independent charity (registered charity No. 313462) that was formed in 1910 following a bequest from Mr John Innes.

The vast majority of our funding is won, in open competition, from various funding agencies in the UK and worldwide. We are currently supported by over 40 different organisations. The Centre is grant-aided by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

The Centre hosts three other separate organisations:

* The Sainsbury Laboratory; founded in 1989 on the JIC site as a joint venture between the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, the University of East Anglia, the BBSRC and JIF. The laboratory has a worldwide reputation for its research in molecular plant pathology and genetics. Although an independent laboratory it is scientifically, physically and administratively linked to JIC.

* Plant Bioscience Limited (PBL); jointly owned by the JIC and the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, PBL is a for-profit technology interaction and intellectual property management company specialising in plant, microbial and food science. PBL manages most of the JIC's and SL's technology transfer.

* The Norwich BioIncubator; 20,000 sq. feet of state-of-the-art laboratory and office facilities, backed by expert support and advice, to provide an innovative and stimulating environment where entrepreneurs and companies can develop their ideas and technologies.